Fourteen Thousand Spring Break Visitors Did Not Come

(Acapulco, NA 25 March) Approximately 14,000 of the spring break partiers from the US and Canada who arrive every year to celebrate a week or two of warm weather and beaches did not come this year. Technically, few were cancellations. Most of them just did not make a reservation in the first place. Jesús Radilla, head of the Trust for the Tourism Promotion of Acapulco (Fidetur), said the reason was “the perception of insecurity.” Last year, 15,000 students arrived from neighboring countries, and this year, barely 1,000, a 93% drop off. Acapulco was hardest hit, he said. Cancun and Los Cabos were able to attract many more spring break visitors. Speaking at the Tianguis Turístico in Acapulco, he pointed out that the private sector has put together the “Speak Well of Acapulco” campaign, to help diffuse the violent image, which plays on people’s fears and overlooks the facts. The spring break market is one notable example of how tourism has fallen victim to sensationalist misreporting of what is going on.